Vengeance
by MoonlightSalsa
Summary: Haku is bullied. Like really badly. The girls are vicious and the adults are useless. Luckily her only friend, new girl Luo can put a stop to it. Except it's not quiet the revenge that Haku had in mind...(changed rating to M for violence in later chapters)
1. Chapter 1

A bully revenge fantasy. Also I decided to give IA the name Emma.

Chapter 1 **Chapter Text**

Haku got to her knees and looked up at her attacker. Her vision was blurry from her tears of pain but she could still make out the face sneering down at her, framed by light blue hair.

"When will you ever learn that we don't fucking want you around, you dumb bitch?" The blue-haired girl then sat back down at the table.

Haku stood up, turned and slipped on the milk that had been spilt on the floor when it was tossed at her head. Her head smacked against the edge of the seat behind her and all the girls laughed louder at her misery.

When she did get to her feet, she ran for the bathroom, feeling dizzy. Haku pushed open the bathroom door and saw Iroha in there already.

Iroha seemed to know who it was without even turning around. She shook her head and snickered.

"Come to cry, have you? Typical Haku, always bawling her eyes out over a little teasing." She walked over to Haku and kicked her suddenly in the waist. Iroha took kickboxing and it was obviously paying off. She sashayed out the door.

Haku staggered over to a stall, locked the door, climber up atop a toilet and curled her arms around her knees.

She should never have listened to the principal. She should have just avoided the girls. She knew that trying to sit at their table was a bad idea, but she still had a glimmer of hope that they would accept her. Well, her principal had been so sure that all she needed to do was force her way into their group. He had been so insistent on it that Haku actually believed it for one sick moment, despite the evidence saying otherwise. The whole thing made her stomach hurt.

Haku wasn't quite sure what she had to done to warrant such behaviour. Had she said something? Done something? All she knew now was that not even Iroha the crazy neko-girl wanted anything to do with her.

The bell rang, signalling the beginning of the next period.

Haku waited until the sounds of footsteps and chairs scraping died away before exiting the bathroom and jogging down the hallway to English.

"Late, Haku!" Her teacher said as she came in, completely indifferent to the milk and food stains on her clothes, "third time this week. See me after class."

The girls sniggered.

It was only when Haku sat down at the back of the class when she noticed the girl standing at the front, whom she had never seen before.

"Now, as I was saying before I was interrupted," the teacher said, staring accusingly at Haku, "we have a new student. Tianyi, would you like to introduce yourself?"

The girl nodded. "Yes. Hi, I'm Tianyi Luo but I just like to be called Luo. I'm fifteen and I just moved here from Beijing, China."

"Very good...Luo. You can take a seat in the back next to Haku there."


	2. Chapter 2

Haku felt herself freezing with fear. After all, this Luo girl would just join the rest of them in making her life horrible. It had happened to every new girl. They would, at first, look upon her with pity but would eventually start being fed all sorts of lies until she joined in. There was no reason for it to not happen to Luo.

Haku tried to put her head down and focus on the lesson, but it was difficult to concentrate because the classroom was alive with chatter about the new girl. Comments ranging from "OMG, we've never had a Chinese here before! I wonder if she can teach me Chinese!" (Miku, who liked to learn languages just so she can tell people to fuck off and not get in trouble because the teachers couldn't understand what she was saying) to "she is sooo hot, holy crap!" (Gumi, the lesbian of the bunch) filled the air. Luo jut sat there and listened to it all.

Haku sneaked a glance at her. Gumi was right, she was really pretty. Luo had long grey hair, green eyes and porcelain skin. She wore a blue and white dress with black stockings and blue arm warmers. Yes, she was pretty.

The bell rang and it was time to go to History. Haku tried to slink to her locker unnoticed, but Miku caught her.

"I'm not done with you yet, you bitch," Miku snarled before winding her hand around her victims long white ponytail and yanking hard. Haku winced as she was thrown to the floor and spat on. The other girls started clapping. Some were cheering.

Then the teacher marched out of the classroom. "Alright, break it up! Get to class!" She looked down at Haku, "Get off the floor! And clean yourself up! You know Girl's High doesn't tolerate that sort of mess." She turned onher heel and went back into the classroom.

Haku picked herself up. Through the dispersing crowd she could see Luo watching everything unfold, an expression of sympathy on her delicate features.

History was about the same as always: girls made cruel comments that cut deep, teacher remained (wilfully?) ignorant. But she noticed how Luo took the seat next to her, even though there were plenty of other seats available.

After History was clubs time. Unbelievably, Haku was in a club: book club. She loved reading and wanted to see what book club would be like; aside from all the bullying, of course. It was her one small rebellion against her aggressors.

She entered the library. The girls were already in there and they had grouped their chairs in a circle around the librarian. Haku then saw the lone chair, far away from the others. Her chair.

She obediently sat down and watched, with a racing heart, as Luo came in, stopped, saw the arrangement, then take out a chair and sit next to the white-haired girl.

What was she doing? Haku thought, was this some attempt at getting under her skin? She remembered the look of sympathy Luo had given her in the hallway, and started to have doubts.

The librarian noticed the new arrival. "Why, hello there. You must be Luo. Are you part of book club now?"

Luo shrugged. "I guess. I didn't really know what to do so I just followed everyone else."

"Very well then. Now back to the book. This week we'll be reading The Eyes of the Moon. And, you'll be doing a project on this."

This was met with several moans and complaints.

"Yes, yes, I know," the librarian sighed, "but the Open Day is coming up and all the clubs have to demonstrate what they've been doing. So, you'll get into pairs and you have four weeks to read the book and create either a wall chart or a poster giving a brief summary on what the book is about. You'll also need to talk about the symbolism in the book and how it applies to real life. Nothing too difficult."

There was still some complaining, mostly coming from Emma, the artsy one.

The librarian winked. "You can include pictures if you want."

That got Emma's approval.

"Alright. Organise yourself into peers."

"Miku! Come with me!"

"Aww, I was gonna ask her to up with me…"

Alright Gumi, it's you and me."

"Hey, I pity the poor girl who has to go with her." The girl motioned in Haku's direction. This caused the group to giggle.

Luo reached over and touched Haku's hand with her own. "I'll go with you." She gave a small smile.

Miku spun around. "Really? You're actually gonna go with her?"

"Well, why not?"

Miku sniffed. "Why not, she says. Why not indeed?" She said with as much sarcasm as she could muster.

Haku just smiled shyly at her new partner. Miku saw, and scowled.

The rest of book club seemed almost too good to be true. Sure, it only consisted of more explaining of how the project was going towards their English grades and how important it was, but Luo didn't say anything remotely bad towards or about her. This was a first for Haku.

Things went right back to normal when school ended and Haku shuffled over to her locker to grab a few things.

Miku and her right-hand woman, Luka, were already waiting for her.

"Think you can get all pally with Luo, do you?" Luka said, "well you can enjoy it while it lasts. She'll be one of us soon, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Also, you should clean up this food stains on your shirt. Girl's High doesn't tolerate that sort of stuff." Miku said in a snarky imitation of the English teacher's voice.

"B-but you-" Haku stuttered.

Miku leaned closer to her face. "B-but I what? You shouldn't sit with us. You know the rules." She suddenly punched Haku in the face. She stumbled and fell back against the lockers.

"Weak. You need to learn to take a punch. You're such a pussy." Miku saw Haku's eyes begin to well up with tears. "Looks like you're a pussy and a baby." She lashed out with her foot and smiled at the 'oof' she received. "Let's go, Luka. I wanna practice my punching on someone who can actually take it." They sauntered off, Luka stifling laughter.

It hurt to breathe. Miku's kick had collided with her chest. She lay down and tried to regain her breath. Her eye was throbbing and her cheeks were wet with tears. I took a minute to realise someone was standing over her. Instinctively, she threw one arm up to cover her face.

Instead of another kick, she felt someone's fingers latch onto her own and pull. She stood up and realised it was Luo. She felt so overwhelmed that she started crying again.

Luo's fingers strikes her cheek. "Hey, don't cry. I'm here now. I won't let them hurt you."

Haku just continued to cry, partially out of relief that someone was caring about her. She felt herself being pulled into an embrace. She lay her head on her saviour's shoulder, who stroked her back.

After a minute, Luo pulled away and took Haku by the hand and began leading her down the hallway.

"Where are w-we going?" Haku asked, sniffling.

"Come on. I'm taking you home."


	3. Chapter 3

Luo was still pulling on the arm of a stunned Haku as she led her out of the school gates and down a completely different route than the one Haku normally took.

"W-where are we going?" Haku asked, a little scared.

"My place," Luo said. "Come on. I'll clean you up and introduce you to my cousin."

They walked for some time until they reached Squatter's Lane, a nickname given to part of a neighbourhood where there are a lot of vacant houses and squatters living in them. This unnerved Haku a bit more.

Eventually, they emerged from the really crappy part of the neighbourhood and into a much nicer area.

Then, Luo stopped in front of a small two-story house painted white with grey shutters and a pyramid-shaped roof. This particular house had been on the market for some time, and it was plain to see that its new owners are taking good care of it. The front door had been mended and the two broken windows had been replaced. The lawns had been mowed and the gardens weeded. There was nothing in them now but Haku could imagine rose bushes and strawberry plants with wisteria adorning the freshly painted fence.

They walked up the path. Luo opened the door and wordlessly motioned for Haku to enter first, which she did.

It was a lot darker inside than out. Haku rubbed at her eyes to adjust them to the sudden light change. It was cool inside, and quiet.

Behind her, Luo pulled the door shut and bellowed out, "Gongyu, I'm home! And I've brought a friend!" Haku felt herself growing redder. She felt like crying out of joy. Friend! Luo considered her a friend! She was often told by Miku and the others that she'll never have friends because no one likes an ugly, poor skank with hygiene issues, but they were wrong. For the first time in a long time, Haku felt a glimmer of hope that the future would be better.

The sound of footsteps snapped her out of her reverie and she looked up to see a young woman who looked a bit like Luo descend the staircase. She had a similar hairstyle and facial features but her eyes were red and she obviously looked way older than Luo.

Luo pulled them together. "Gongyu, this is my friend Haku. Haku, this is my cousin Gongyu."

Gongyu smiled warmly. "Nice to meet you."

Haku's face grew redder. She wasn't quite used to being treated kindly by most people, so her voice stammered a little when she said "you too."

Then Gongyu noticed the stains on Haku's shirt and the darkening skin around her eye. "Er, what happened?"

"Bullies happened," Luo's voice was sharp and clear.

Gongyu's eyes widened. "Oh, you poor thing! Hey, come into the kitchen and I'll make us a drink. And I'll get you some ice for that eye." She ushered the girls down the hallway.

Haku and Luo seated themselves at the kitchen table as Gongyu bustled about, filling the kettle and collecting three mugs.

"Do you like hot chocolate, Haku?" She asked as she bent down to retrieve an ice pack from the freezer.

"Yes please,"

"Did you know your head's bleeding?" Luo asked.

"What? No, I didn't! Is it bad?" Haku sounded shocked.

Luo leaned in for a closer inspection. "It's mostly all dried blood. Did you hit your head on anything today?"

Haku recalled lunchtime. "Yeah. I hit it on one of the seats in the cafeteria." She carefully held the ice pack in place over her bruised eye.

Gongyu stopped what she was doing. "You might have a concussion. Have you been feeling sick, or have blurry vision?"

Haku thought for a second. "Well, I was feeling a bit dizzy for a while."

"Sometimes symptoms can take days to appear. They usually include dizziness, blurry vision and difficulty focusing. Don't hesitate to tell anyone should you start feeling sick." Gongyu said.

"Don't you have a nurse at school?" Luo asked.

"We do, but I don't think she likes me very much. I used to go to her nearly every week before she got annoyed and told me to sort out my problems and to not come back unless it was serious."

"Seriously, who thinks it's okay to say something like that to a student?" Gongyu shook her head. "A victim of bullying, no less!"

"Are all the adults at school useless? You should have seen the English teacher today, Gongyu. She just yelled at Haku for being late and for having food stains on her clothes. And the librarian just completely looked the other way."

"Oh, fuck that!"

Just then, the kettle on the stovetop began whistling. Gongyu walked over and began pouring the hot water into each mug.

"Can you get me the milk, Luo?"

Luo fetched the milk and put the bottle handle into her cousin's outstretched hand. Gongyu removed the lid and more or less dumped some milk into the first mug.

Once she was done, she put a mug down in front of Haku.

"Thank you," Haku said.

"Such lovely manners!" Gongyu marvelled, "Luo almost never says thank you!"

"I do so!" Luo protested, but she was smiling. To prove her point, she made a big show of saying "Thank you!" when Gongyu placed her hot chocolate in front of her. All three girls laughed.

Once the drinks were finished, Luo asked, "do you want to go up and have a shower?"

Haku reached one hand behind her head and touched the dry, flaky blood. "Yes please. That would be nice."

Luo nodded. "I'll bring up some spare clothes for you."

"You don't have to do that…"

"Oh, don't be silly," Gongyu said, "you need clean clothes."

Haku blushed once more. "Okay. But may I please call my dad first. I just want to let him know where I am."

"Sure," Gongyu motioned towards the wall phone.

Haku picked it up and dialled her home phone number. Her dad picked up on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Hello Dad, it's me."

"Haku! Where've you been? You should have been home by now! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, Dad I'm fine. But guess what: I've made a friend. I'm over at her house."

Her dad gasped on the other end. "Oh my god, really? That's great! What's she like?"

Haku smiled a little at the relief in her dads voice. He too, was beginning to lose hope in her ever finding a friend.

"She's really nice. Her name's Luo and she's from China. She's new to our school. Seriously, she's wonderful."

"That-that's amazing, honey, really it is! But now, when do you plan on being home? Your Aunt Meiko is coming, and she'll want to see you."

"Okay Dad. I think I'm only going to be another hour or so."

"That's good, sweetie, see you in an hour."

"Bye."

Haku hung up and turned around to face Luo. "I'm good for another hour."

Luo nodded. "Great! Gongyu just went up to run the shower. It's upstairs, the first door on your right."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"No, I meant thanks for everything. I'm really grateful. And I'm glad you're my f-friend."

Now it was Luo's turn to start blushing. "That's all right. And I'm glad you're my friend too."


	4. Chapter 4

The next day was Friday.

As Haku walked through the school gates, she ignored the way the other girls turned their backs to her and jogged over to Luo, who was smiling and waiting for her.

"Hi!" Haku called.

"Hi," Luo responded. "excited for tonight?"

"Yes!" Haku could barely contain herself. Luo and Gongyu had invited her to stay at their house for the weekend. She had been delighted, her father even more so when his daughter asked him for permission. Aunt Meiko had been there when it happened and she, a little boldly, said "Haku's found herself a friend, finally!" and then smiled widely with her lips covered in a thick coating of the off-brand red lipstick she always wore.

The bell rang for first period. Haku barely avoided being reprimanded for being late because she had to find the best way to fit her overnight bag in her locker and still be able to close the door.

She and Luo sat at the same table and listened to the teacher drone on about acids and bases and pH whatevers. Sometime during the lesson she got the feeling that someone was staring.

She turned around to find that Gumi was staring longingly at Luo's back. She was twisting several forest-green strands of hair around her finger and had one hand supporting her chin in an almost seductive pose.

When she noticed Haku watching her, she glared and stuck out her chin in a "what are you looking at?" manner.

Haku hunched her shoulders a little and turned her attention back to her workbook.

It took Haku the next period and a lunch break for her to realise that what happened in Science wasn't just a one-off; Gumi was following them around and ogling at Luo, who had noticed by then too.

"It's starting to creep me out," Luo said over lunch, "I'm going to see what her deal is." She stood up and walked over to the next table.

"Gumi?"

The green-haired girl stopped absentmindedly fiddling with her steampunk goggles and looked up.

"I'd like to know why you keep staring at me."

Gumi giggled nervously. "What?"

"You keep staring at me. Stop it, please."

"I-I'm not s-staring," Gumi began to go red. She resumed messing with her goggles.

Luo sighed, annoyed. "Please, just stop. It really is starting to get creepy." She went back to her own table and sat down.

"I think she has a crush on me," Luo said with the corners of her lips turning up in an amused smile.

"I think so too. Did you see the way her face went all red?" Haku giggled.

"Wait til she finds out I'm not a lesbian."

Haku burst out laughing and Miku turned and yelled, "yeah yeah, you're a fuckin' riot now can you shut up and let decent people eat in peace?"

"She thinks she's decent but can't even say please?" Luo said in a low voice.

Haku didn't know why she found it so hilarious but she continued laughing, only stopping when Miku threw a half-eaten apple at her head.

After the end of school bell had sounded, Haku and Luo were on their way to Squatter's Lane. It was a beautiful afternoon. The sky was clear, the air was crisp. The sun was warm and bright. It shone over Luo's house as if it were a gateway to heaven.

When they entered, Gongyu wasn't there.

"She just texted to say that she's had to cover someone at work. She'll be back soon." Luo explained. "I'll go set up the extra mattress."

"Do you need any help?" Haku asked.

"No, I'll be fine. But there's some leftover pudding in the fridge. You can hear that up for us. I'll be down in a minute." Luo then disappeared upstairs.

Haku found the pudding in a microwave container in the fridge. She took off the lid and sniffed the contents. Chocolate. She placed it in the fridge and set it on high for thirty seconds.

As she did so, she heard a knock at the door. Haku ran into the hallway. "I'll get it!" She called up.

She pulled open the door, thinking it was Gongyu and her face dropped when she saw that it wasn't Gongyu who was standing there, but Gumi.

A/N: I just want to say that I'll be changing this story's rating to M next chapter...yeah


	5. Chapter 5

Haku felt her throat and mouth run dry. Gumi pushed her way past and stepped into the hallway.

"Yes, er, hello Haku. Is Luo around?" She asked.

Haku gaped like a fish out of water. How had Gumi found them?

Gumi rolled her eyes. "Hello! Where's Luo?"

The only thing that came out of Haku's mouth was "how do you know where she lives?"

"I followed you home," Gumi strolled in the kitchen. "Something smells nice. Is that pudding? Can I have some?" Without waiting for an answer she grabbed the container from the microwave and scooped some pudding out and stuck it in her mouth.

"That's for me and Luo," Haku took a step forward.

Gumi glared. "So? Besides, what are you doing here anyway?"

"Because I was invited to spend the weekend here."

Gumi snickered. "Felt sorry for you, did she?"

Haku straightened her back as a rare sliver of defensiveness washed over her. "N-no…"

"Oh,sure," Gumi set the container down on the kitchen bench. "Now, for the last time, where's Luo?"

"She's busy and probably doesn't want to see you." Haku stepped in front of the door, blocking the exit.

Gumi stood toe to toe with her. "Move."

Maybe it was the knowledge that someone in the house was willing to back her up if she stood up for herself, but Haku, feeling daring and oddly brave(it was such a foreign feeling to her, after all), said, "make me."

Gumi inhaled deeply, then lunged.

She caught ahold of Haku's leg and yanked. Haku fell to the floor and tried to crawl away. Gumi was too fast and pounced on her. She sat on her chest and wrapped her fingers around her victim's throat, then squeezed.

Haku clawed at her hands, but to no avail. She thrashed her legs desperately, with little effect. In fact, it seemed to make Gumi squeeze harder, as if she was sending a message: this is what will happen if you dare stand up for yourself. This will be your punishment for not giving us what we want. You fucking bitch, you don't deserve to live.

Dots began to form in her eyes. Her lungs were desperately clinging to the slightest whiff of air, but it wasn't enough. Her green-haired attacker began to press all her weight onto her neck. Her angry, red face, Haku knew, would be the last thing she would ever see. She closed her eyes…

And suddenly air rushed into her gaping mouth. She swallowed it gratefully and realised someone was screaming.

Gumi was on the floor, clutching her head, her hands bloody. Luo was there, holding a chair. Her face was indescribable but Haku could practically feel the anger radiating off her body.

Haku watched as Luo raised the chair above her head, then brought it down on Gumi's. Again and again.

Blood poured from the wounds as Gumi tried to stand up but was struck down by the chair again. Her face, hair and hands were dyed a brilliant red. Yet, she never stopped screaming, an awful high-pitched sound that became more and more distorted after each blow.

Gumi was writhing in a pool of blood, her hands held out to defend herself but her efforts were futile. Luo just kept going until Gumi suddenly became silent after a particularly loud smack!

Haku rubbed at her blurry eyes and stated in shock and horror. The kitchen was a mess. Blood was spattered all up and down the walls, cabinets, there was even some on the ceiling. And then there was Gumi.

Her face was practically unrecognisable underneath the thick coating of red. Her clothes were stained and her trademark steampunk goggles were crushed beyond repair. But the worst part was that she was also fucked beyond repair. The beating she endured was horrific. Even if she did somehow survive that, she would never fully recover.

Luo breathed in then out. She looked over at Haku, then knelt and hugged her. Haku didn't bother trying to stop the tears. She just watched someone die(at the hands of her friend, no less!) after almost dying herself.

"Are you okay?" Luo asked.

Haku could only get out "y-you k-k-killed,"

"Yes, I did." Luo buried her face in her hands. "I don't know what came over me. I came d-downstairs and I saw you and her and I j-just…"

The two girls stayed there on the floor for a long time, just holding each other.

Finally, Luo seemed to (mostly) get past the shock of what she had done. She stood up and said "I'd better get her into the basement. Then we should clean the kitchen." Her voice, though still shaky, was much sharper.

Haku was still too numb, and just stayed on the floor. She didn't question Luo's actions. The longer no one knew about this, the better.

This is what happens when you stand up for yourself, that niggling voice in the back of her mind declared. Luo picked up the body by the legs and started dragging it out of the kitchen. And yet…

Gumi deserved it.

Yes, she really did. There was the time she stole Haku's lunchbox and pissed in it. And the time she stole Haku's gym clothes and tossed them into the mud. And who could forget the time she threw several firecrackers into Haku's locker? Not to mention that the last thing she did in her life was strangle her poor victim?

Yes. Gumi definitely deserved what she got.

This made Haku feel a tiny bit better. But Luo had still committed murder and a judge or jury wouldn't be as understanding. There was no way she wasn't going to get slapped with a criminal record of some kind.

Just then, there was the sound of someone opening the front door. Haku heard Gongyu call out "Girls, I'm ho-" and stopped mid sentence, presumably as she saw the trail of red in the hallway. She stopped in the kitchen doorway and her face dropped.

"What the FUCK!? WHAT?!"

Haku found herself at a loss for words.

Luo emerged from the staircase leading down to the basement. "Gumi was here," she said, "and she was fucking strangling Haku! I-I did what I had to do."

Gongyu took a deep breath. "Where is Gumi?"

Luo pointed down the basement stairs. At the bottom was a mess of red, orange and white.

"Dear God," Gongyu shook her head in shock and disbelief.

"W-what are we going to do now?" Haku asked, on the verge of tears, "Luo's prolly going t-to go to j-jail!"

The thought of her little cousin going to jail seemed to snap Gongyu into action.

"No she's not," Gongyu stepped forward and placed both hands on Haku's shoulders, "we're going to wrap her up with garbage bags. We're going to clean up all this blood-no, we'll get rid of any and all evidence that she was ever here. Then we'll take her out and dump her body somewhere where it hopefully won't be found for a long time. And we're not going to breathe a word of this to anybody. Got it? Luo?"

"Yes," the girls said in unison.

"Right. Let's get to work."

By the time the kitchen floor was spotless and smelling heavily of bleach, by the time the chair used in the attack was hidden away in the basement waiting to be chopped up and burned as firewood, by the time the body was cleaned and swathed in garbage bags and tucked away in the boot of Gongyu's car under an old picnic blanket, by the time the car and its three living occupants sped away in search of a quiet dumping ground, the sky was beginning to darken and Gumi's mother had filed a missing persons report.


	6. Chapter 6

The sky was ablaze with orange and blue and the clouds had taken on a pinkish hue. It would be a perfect sunset if it wasn't for the crippling feeling of dread that hung over Haku like a storm cloud. She was keeled over in the backseat holding her stomach. Luo was with her, patting her back reassuringly.

"Everything okay, girls?" Gongyu asked from the driver's seat. Haku only glanced at the body concealed by the blanket in the boot.

Gongyu grimaced a little. "We're gonna have to get rid of that," she said, referring to the blanket, "our great-grandma knitted that. We used to take it on picnics all the time when I was younger. I don't think she'd be very pleased to discover that were using it to cover up a murder." She then laughed a little, hoping that it would cheer up the girls. Luo only rolled her eyes, and Haku didn't respond at all. Gongyu swallowed and focused on her driving.

Soon the houses disappeared and fed into barns and lush green paddocks, which in turn fed into a thick cluster of trees.

Luo realised at once. "Are we going up the mountain?" She asked.

"Yup. We'll wait until no ones around then dump her a little ways up one of the trails." Gongyu confirmed.

When they arrived at the parking lot they were already in luck. There was not one other car in the area.

"We shouldn't get cocky," Gongyu warned the girls, "someone could still turn up. We have to hustle."

Working quickly, Haku kept lookout while Gongyu and Luo lifted the body out of the boot and slammed the door closed.

"Alright, let's roll."

They began walking up a path named The Enchanted Trail. The name suited it well. The hedges were neatly trimmed into cubes and there were flowers sorted by colour to form a rainbow of sorts. It was pretty but looked a bit out of place on a mountain.

"Let's roll her body off the cliff!" Luo cried a little too gleefully.

"Calm down there, Satan," Gongyu said, "I was thinking of taking it off trail. No one would ever really go off trail, so less chance of someone coming across it." She turned to her left. "Through here."

They stepped through the hedges and into the trees. Walking became more difficult. They were now having to step over tree roots and avoid damp areas.

They walked for a few minutes until Gongyu stopped.

"Put her here, and take off the blanket." When Luo obliged she continued giving instructions. "Now get as many leaves as you can and cover her with them."

When they were finished Gumi's body was practically invisible. She just looked like another pile of leaves admidst other piles of leaves admidst the rugged trees and bushes.

Gongyu wasted no time in ushering everyone out of the bush, onto the trail and back into the car. Haku's mind was spinning and she wanted to get off the mountain as quickly as possible.

The trees and bushes flew by. Among them was the body of a teenage girl who had been alive only hours earlier. Her distorted screams echoed in Haku's mind.

Eventually, the car emerged out of the tunnel of trees and onto the open road. By now the sunlight was almost gone, and stars were beginning to become visible.

"So," Gongyu began, breaking the silence, "what do you want for dinner?"

Luo furrowed her eyebrows together, as if she couldn't believe her cousin was thinking about food right now. But then she sighed and said "Can we go to Burger Land?"

"Sure. Haku?"

"Burger Land's good," Haku responded quietly. But she was craning around in her seat, staring at the mountain, big and ominous against the night sky, that had just become someone's final resting place.


	7. Chapter 7

Haku was in the woods. The trees stretched into the pitch black sky, dark and ominous. The air was filled with the sounds of night life and leaves crunching under Haku's footsteps. She wandered aimlessly through the foliage, the air leaving a sticky, damp feeling on her skin.

She stopped and looked up at the sky. Admidst the inky blackness was the moon, its light so bright it illuminated everything in a bluish glow. The moon seemed to be pulsating waves of light.

A sharp, shrill scream cut through the the air. All other noise suddenly stopped. The scream echoed through the trees. Haku turned to see Gumi standing a few metres in front of her, covered in dirt and blackish blood, with a few leaves stuck to her hair. She took a step forwards and emitted another scream, seemingly without moving her jaw.

She suddenly dashed forwards at an alarming speed, her arms outstretched, reaching for Haku's neck. She made another noise, this one more malicious and ghostly.

Haku opened her eyes and she was wrapped in a floral print duvet, lying on a mattress on Luo's bedroom floor. There was a sliver of moonlight from a crack in the curtains, and it faintly lit up the room. She could feel the sweet chilli chicken burger she'd had for dinner churning around in her stomach.

She let out a sob. Evidently Luo was still awake, because she heard her rustling her bedcovers.

"Haku? Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

Haku could only muster enough energy to roll over and vomit onto the soft gray carpet.

The rest of the weekend went by. Haku and Luo played board games and went out for lunch but the events of Friday afternoon were still fresh in their minds. The kitchen seemed tainted. After Gongyu chopped up the chair that was used to bash someone's brains in and then burn it in the fire pit outside along with the blanket used to wrap up the body, Haku still didn't feel any better. She was dreading Monday.

She went home on Sunday evening and said to her dad that she had a headache and needed to lie down. She lay on top of her bedcovers and tried to at least make herself act and sound normal for school tomorrow.

Monday morning arrived.

Gumi's disappearance was all anyone could talk about. Even Miku and the teachers were concerned. But there was something fake about it. Miku often mocked Gumi, though she never got physical with her. Miku, it seemed, was faking concern either to keep up with the idea that she was a kind-hearted person who cared about her peers, or so that she could appear on the news and act all pretty and sad for some reason.

But no one was even more worried than Rin, Gumi's best friend.

Haku rarely ever saw Rin. Rin apparently was trying to stay under the radar to avoid getting picked on like Haku. As if she had anything to worry about. Her twin brother Len went to Boy's High, and was apparently insanely protective of his sister, and was also on several sports teams.

Haku came across Rin in the hallways, crying. At that, Haku's guilt came welling back up to the surface. After all, she had some involvement in her best friend's death. Another reason why she shouldn't stand up for herself: she'll indirectly make other people upset.

She had to comfort Rin. Pretend she wasn't involved.

She walked up to her and put a hand in her shoulder.

"Hey, Rin, I'm sure Gumi's alright, we'll find her…" She cringed internally at how fake and empty those words sounded.

It was as if Rin could sense this, because she turned around and spat "Fuck off, you bitch! I don't want your fuckin pity!"

The words stung but Haku felt like she deserved them.

In class, the teacher set up the classroom TV and played a video of the Sunday news coverage of Gumi's disappearance.

Her mother was there, weeping. "Please, Gumi, come back home! Your family loves you!"

"The teenager disappeared after school last Friday," the reporter said, "she was last seen crossing the street from the school. If you have any information please call this number…"

When the bell rang for lunch, Haku practically ran to her locker to retrieve her water bottle. Seeing the news report made her feel a hundred times worse.

When she opened the door, something thin and white fluttered to the ground. It was a piece of paper, folded in half. She picked it up and opened it.

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID.

MEET ME ON THE SCHOOL FIELD AT EXACTLY FOUR O'CLOCK OR I GO TO THE POLICE.

TELL NO ONE.

These words were scrawled onto the paper, big and black and ugly. Haku stared at it, feeling the bile rise up in her throat. She dropped everything and ran to the toilet just in time to throw up into it.

When she returned, she saw Miku making off with her school bag, laughing maniacally.

She would later find it in the bin.

Haku made her way to the cafeteria and seated herself next to Luo. Luo stared at her face, which made Haku realise how pale and drawn she must look.

"You got one too, didn't you?" Luo said quietly. Haku only nodded in response.

Luo took her hand and rubbed it gently to calm her. "It looks like we're just going to have to do what the note says. Maybe we can bargain with them so they don't go to the police."

"But what if they don't accept?" Haku asked.

Luo's face darkened. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Haku knew what she meant, and it made her feel sick again.


	8. Chapter 8

Four o'clock was only minutes away. Soon Haku and Luo would have to start walking back to the school field. They had gone down the street to the corner dairy and shared a bottle of water and a small box of hot chips to calm their nerves. Luo's hand was grasping Haku's. Their hands were as cold and clammy as the others, however Haku had her head bowed to hide the worryingly sick expression on her face and Luo's face appeared calm.

Haku couldn't stop thinking about what the next hours could hold. Who was the person who wrote the notes? Why did they want to meet up? And how did they know about Gumi?

The walk back to the field seemed to take forever. Haku felt like everyone they passed was staring at them because they knew their secret. Their eyes appeared dark and judgemental. Haku wanted to cry out "I would have died! It was in self-defence!" But then everyone would know for real what they had done to Gumi.

Haku closed her eyes and when she opened them, she and Luo were standing on the school field. There was a small group of people standing at the corner of the field, by the caretakers shed.

Luo took her hand. "Let's get this over with."

As they neared the group, they saw that it was Rin, her brother Len and another boy with red hair whom they didn't recognise.

Rin stared at the girls, furious but a little heartbroken, her eyes unforgiving. Haku knew instantly that she was the person who had written the note.

Len and the other boy, on the other hand, looked bored and more than a little annoyed. They perked up when the noticed the girls.

"Oh, so they actually showed?" Len said quietly, mildly surprised.

Haku clutched the scarf she'd put on to hide the bruises on her neck. Luckily, it was a cold, windy day and it didn't look too out of place.

Rin walked up to Haku and slapped her. Haku fell to the ground, completely blindsided. Luo took a step back.

"Bitch," Rin hissed, "you fucking bitch!"

"Whoa, Rin!" Len said.

"Don't 'whoa Rin' me! They killed Gumi!" Rin was hysterical and angry beyond words.

"How did you know?" Luo asked in a glacially calm voice.

Len took note of her tone of voice and actually looked a little concerned. "Wait, so they actually did kill her? I thought you were just being crazy."

"I'm not crazy!" Rin shouted. "I went with Gumi! I was outside their house! I heard the whole thing! How is that being crazy?!"

That made Haku wonder, if Rin heard the whole thing if she was to be believed, whether others may have heard it too.

"You killed her because she was a lesbian, didn't you?" Rin said, tears welling up in her eyes.

Luo was a little outraged. "Wha-no! I didn't kill her because of that! I killed her because she was trying to kill her," she motioned in Haku's direction.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing," the red headed boy said.

"Me neither," Len responded.

Rin yanked Haku's scarf off, revealing the bruises underneath. Len and the other boy's eyes were as big as saucers.

"Well," Len began cautiously, "I believe them."

"WHAT?" Rin screamed.

"Me too," said the other boy.

"SHUT UP, FUCK-ASS!"

"I-it's pronounced Fukase, actually,"

"SHUT UP!"

"But Rin," Len gestured towards Haku's bruises, "that's proof right there that they're telling the truth!"

"I DON'T GIVE A FLYING FUCK! THEY KILLED MY BEST FRIEND! IT'S STILL HER FAULT!" Rin pointed an accusing finger at Haku, "IF SHE WASN'T SUCH A BITCH GUMI WOULDN'T HAVE TRIED TO KILL HER!" And with that, she turned on her heel and marched into the caretakers shed.

Len rubbed the back of his head apologetically. "I-I'm sorry, this is and awful lot to take in and-"

Luo waved her hand. "I know, we're still trying to get over it ourselves. You're actually quite understanding about this."

Len managed a weak smile. "Well, killing is still wrong but it's understandable if it was self-defence. But, what did you do with Gumi's b-body?"

"Not telling," Luo drew her thumb and forefinger over her lips, "you know the drill. I'm thinking you should keep quiet about this and we'll-"

"Not on my watch!" Rin emerged from the shed, carrying a pair of gardening shears pointed menacingly at the girls.


	9. Chapter 9

Everyone backed away slowly.

"Rin," Len held up his hands. "I think this is starting to go a bit far…"

Rin roared with primal rage and made vicious chopping motions with the shears.

Fukase took off, heading for the gate which led to the main road. Len was hot on his heels, having abandoned what little hope he had of having a calm, reasonable talk with his sister.

But Rin didn't chase after them. It wasn't them she was concerned about, after all.

She ran after Haku, who turned on her heel and promptly slipped in the mud. She clambered to her feet but not quick enough.

As soon as she stood up Rin was upon her. She only narrowly missed getting her throat slashed because Luo tackled her back to the ground.

Rin seemed a little dazed by how quickly it had happened, her feet shuffling around, confused for a second. A second was all that Luo needed to pull her legs out from under her. Rin screamed as Luo attempted to wrestle the shears away.

Haku averted her eyes as soon as Luo bit Rin on her wrist, giving her an opportunity to wrench the shears away and position them over the blonde's throat. Haku heard the squeak of the shears and the nightmare-inducing sound of the blades slicing through flesh. And then, again. Somewhere in the distance, she could make out the sound of tyres squealing and horns blaring, sounding foggy and distant.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck…" Luo stood up and examined her bloodstained stockings. That wasn't the biggest concern, though. The murder weapon would have fingerprints all over it, not to mention Luo's teeth marks on Rin's wrist. And they were out in the open. It was a literal miracle that no one had appeared to have heard anything.

Luo noticed the bite mark too. She brought out the shears again and slashed, no, destroyed that wrist.

"Hopefully that'll keep them off our backs." She said. Haku didn't need to be told who "they" were.

The distant noise of ambulance sirens brought their attention to the gate where Len and Fukase had gone. They were nowhere to be seen, but there were several cars and a truck parked irregularly on the street. A small crowd of people were gathered, kneeling by something on the pavement. What though, the girls could not see. Every so often though, a cry or horrified scream would pierce the air.

Luo's eyes grew scarily wide. She darted behind the shed as deftly as a rabbit. Haku followed.

"Shit, we can't leave the body out in the open like that, they could probably see it from over there!" Luo gasped,rolling down her stockings and casting them aside. She stealthily crept back around to the front of the shed. A moment later, she reappeared dragging Rin by the feet, her arm warmers wrapped around her hand to prevent her from leaving any more evidence.

She spied the hose and grabbed it, turning the nozzle of the tap on the wall. White water exploded from the hose and over Rin's body. She concentrated the blast over Rin's head, then arms then clothes and legs.

While this was happening, Haku got an idea of what to do with the murder weapon. She folded the blades back together then wound the stockings around them.

"Here," she motioned to Luo in a shaky whisper as Luo turned the tap off. "put this under your dress."

Luo nodded in approval and lifted the top of her dress away from her chest, then slipped the shears inside. She shivered at the touch of the cold metal and the slimy, bloodstained stockings.

"This is all we can do," she said, "now let's get out of here!"

She ran for the school buildings, keeping close to the walls and peering round corners to check the coast was clear. Haku picked her muddy scarf up off the ground and followed suit.

They walked back to Squatter's Lane as naturally as they could, Luo hiding the bulgy shape and blood on her torso by wrapping her arms around herself, pretending she was cold.

They made it to Luo's house with no issues, but Haku had started to once more feel the chilling coils of paranoia wrap around her throat.

She stumbled into the kitchen, no longer caring much about what had transpired. Luo came in as well, seated herself at the table and took the shears out of her dress. For about thirty seconds, neither one of them said anything but then Gongyu's voice boomed from above.

"Is that you, Luo?" The stairs creaked.

"Yeah," Luo said. She did nothing to hide the shears and that was the first thing Gongyu saw when she entered the kitchen.

Gongyu's face transformed into a flurry of emotion: anger, shock, horror, sadness. She then said in a voice with just as much feeling: "What the fuck happened now?!"


	10. Chapter 10

An hour later, Haku left Luo's house and began trudging back to her own home.

She and Luo had explained what happened to Gongyu, and Gongyu just sat down and cried. Whether it was out of terror, frustration or exhaustion was anyone's guess.

Another life had been taken.

But...it was in self-defence, again. And Rin did kind of bring it upon herself. She tried to kill Haku, just like Gumi had.

But...Rin was justifiably upset. Her best friend had been brutally slain and left to rot somewhere.

Haku's lower lip trembled. She knew she would be upset too if Luo was killed. But would she be upset to the point of attempted murder? Probably not, but who knew? The human mind works in mysterious ways, she mused.

Luo would probably turn to murder should Haku bite the dust herself. She would slaughter everyone involved.

The notion that her best friend was a killer made Haku sway to the side, as if in a daze. She placed one hand on a fence to steady herself.

She couldn't deny that it was true. Luo was the one that held the chair and shears. But…

It was for her.

Had Luo just stood idly by, Haku's face would have turned a ghastly shade of blue. Her throat would have become a stream of red.

Luo was a killer, but she did it for her best friend.

Did this mean Haku herself was responsible too?

Haku stumbled through the front door of her house, and, in the nick of time, remembered to adjust the scarf so they were hiding the bruises on her neck.

Her dad greeted her, his expression was that of sadness.

"What's wrong?" She asked, quickly, to hide the inevitable worry wobble.

"Come see the news," her dad took her arm and led her to the TV. He grabbed the remote and rewound, then pressed the play button.

The local news woman, a Chinese named Yan He, was standing in the middle of a street, surrounded by cars and flashing lights. There was also a truck nearby, and an ambulance. It took Haku a second to realise it was the scene she had seen from the school field.

"This normally quiet street was the scene of a double tragedy this afternoon," Yan He began, "as two local teenage boys were both hit by a truck when they suddenly ran out onto the street. The driver was unable to stop in time, and both boys were killed."

As she spoke, a stretcher, covered with a sheet, was being loaded into the ambulance. From the top of the sheet, Haku could make out a mop of red hair. Realisation hit her and she keeled over. Her dad rubbed her back.

"You may think that things couldn't get any worse," Yan He continued, "but just twenty minutes ago another body was discovered on the school field by the caretaker. This time, it was that of a teenage girl. She appears to have had her throat cut. Police believe that these two incidents are related…"

Haku couldn't watch anymore. She made a move for the stairs. Suddenly, the phone rang. Her dad answered it, then handed it over. "It's for you," he mouthed.

Haku took the phone and ran into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Just as she'd expected, it was Luo on the other end.

"Did you just see the news?" Luo sounded incredulous.

Haku mumbled an affirmative. "I-I don't k-know what t-to say… Is this f-fate? Is this s-some twisted divine intervention?" She spat that last word out.

"It would certainly seem like that. Holy fuck, just, holy fuck," Haku imagined Luo running her fingers through her hair. "I'm, I'm almost…relieved. That's one loose end we won't have to worry about."

"But they seemed like they understood,"

"Just because they understood doesn't mean they won't tell. Gongyu said that, by the way."

"Hey, how is Gongyu?" Haku asked.

"Still upset," Luo responded, "she's calmed down some, though."

Later, after a very quiet and somber dinner, Haku examined her neck in the bathroom mirror. It was still tuned with that hideous shade of purple. She hoped it was cold tomorrow, so she wouldn't look too out of place wearing her scarf again.

She tossed and turned in bed that night, unable to shut her eyes for too long because every time she did, she would see the red mop of hair peeking out from beneath the sheet. She would see the decimated neck and wrist coated in red. She would see the crushed steampunk goggles and green hair matted with red.

Nothing but red.

Red, red, red.

A few short hours before dawn, her heavy eyelids finally closed on their own. She dreamed of Gumi once more, joined by her best friend and her brother and his friend. All red, of course.

Some blocks away, Luo also dreamed of red, but this time she was wading through a river of it, and suddenly saw herself with a hard expression of determination and coldness.


	11. Chapter 11

School was closed the next day. And it would be for the rest of the week. Of course it would. It was a crime scene, after all.

Haku feigned illness so she could stay in her room all day with a guarantee that her dad wouldn't randomly burst in on her. He respected her privacy.

But really, she just needed to appear sick when her dad was actually at home.

Plus, she did feel pretty sick anyway.

He left for work around nine and wouldn't be back till three. That gave Haku about six hours to come to terms with everything. Six hours to really sit down and think about everything. Like, will the authorities ever discover that it was me and Luo behind everything? What will happen next?

It's your fault, she thought to herself. She clenched her teeth to stop the guilt from rising. It didn't really help.

Her gaze shifted to Eyes of the Moon sitting on her bedside table. She hadn't even so much as opened it yet, and she'll need to get started on reading it if she and Luo were to complete the poster.

She sighed, sat up in bed, grabbed the book and began to read.

 _"Nature in itself is one great big storybook. Trees have rings that display how long they've been alive. The grass bears footprints, showing a person going about their everyday business. The beaches hide wrecked ships buried beneath the sand, waiting to be discovered. Nature always has a story to tell, no matter how mundane."_

Haku thought back to the Enchanted Trail on the mountain. The trees, the dirt, the leaves...they'd all tell tales of being walked on, brushed up against, used to hide a festering corpse. It's all part of their individual stories. But they certainly weren't mundane.

Haku wanted to throw the book at the wall. But, at the same time, she didn't want to damage said book. She clenched her teeth again and tried to suppress an angry groan. Having conflicting feelings is truly the worst kind of torture.

Then came a knock at the front door.

Haku exited her room, walked down the stairs and opened the door to see that it was Luo. Haku didn't say a word, just watched as Luo entered.

"Are you okay?" She asked as Haku shut the front door.

Haku gave a half shake, half nod and bit her lip.

Luo took a step closer. "Do you need to talk about it?" She noticed Haku's eyelids squeezing shut as a wet shine slowly covered them. Luo placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Haku? Are you sure you're okay?" Her voice was more tender and caring than before.

"No I'm not!" Haku cried, bringing up her hand and wiped her eyes messily. "This whole thing is my fault! If we weren't friends then I wouldn't have been at your house and I wouldn't have made Gumi mad and she and Rin and the other two would still be alive and and and…" Haku was cut off as Luo pulled her into a tight hug.

"It's not your fault." Luo said calmly.

"Y-yes it is, how can I live w-with myself…?"

"No. I killed Gumi and Rin because they tried to kill you. You did not kill them. You did nothing wrong. It's not your fault." Luo paused for a second. "Really though, it's Gumi's fault, isn't it? She did follow us home, after all. And, she attacked you first."

Haku sniffed loudly and buried her damp face into Luo's shoulder.

"We're not going to get caught." Luo continued. "Gongyu and I used to watch a lot of crime shows. Last Hour, To Catch a Killer, all that good stuff. I know what to do, all the pitfalls, whatever. We'll be fine."

What Luo didn't mention was that she really couldn't say with 100% certainty that they were going to get away with Rin's killing. There might be something she left at the scene, a stray hair, for example. Or something she had no control over. Rin could have told someone else about Gumi, like another friend or family member. That person might even come out about it, give a statement to the police. Luo could always deny it. They'd trashed the notes they received and the school had no security cameras as far as she knew. No evidence to link her and Haku to Rin, or Gumi.

But, on the off chance someone else did know, Luo would just have to be prepared to leave town. Or kill again.

"I'm glad you're my friend," came a teary, muffled voice. Luo hugged her tighter. She really was sorry that Haku thought of herself as responsible. She was nothing more than a catalyst. A catalyst that did not deserve to go through all those mental gymnastics.

She hoped they would both make it out alright.

The police station was in a state of chaos. Officials had been called in from out of town, and they now moved about the station as if they owned it.

Quinxian didn't like it. She thought it looked more than a bit arrogant. She watched them from where she leaned against the wall with her cap pulled over her eyes in a way that hid the fact that she was watching everyone.

This was _her_ station, _her_ territory. Who did these people think they were, strutting about, ordering around _her_ coworkers and draining _her_ water cooler?

"Mo!" A voice called. It was one of the Otomachi twins, the one everyone called Spice, Quinxian couldn't remember her actual name. "Mo! The Chief wants to see you!"

Quinxian pushed past Spice and made her way into the Chief of Police's office, shutting the door behind her. The Chief sat at his desk. Also in the room were Spice's twin Una, or Sugar as she was more affectionately known, and a white-haired male she didn't recognise.

"Officer Mo, this is Private Investorgator Piko Utatane. He has come in from out of town to assist us with this case. I'm assigning you to this new case, and you and Utatane and Otomachi will be working together on it." The Chief wasted no time in getting down to business. He spied the disdain in Quinxian's eye and tutted. "You better not let your feelings get in the way. I want this case closed. And fast. I'm trusting you, Quinxian." He handed Quinxian two manila folders. The case files. He turned to Piko. "Quinxian Mo is one of my best detectives," he said brightly, as if he didn't just lecture one of his best detectives. Then, he shooed them out of his office.

Quinxian, Sugar and Piko stood outside the office door. Piko offered his hand to Quinxian, who stared at it with disgust before puffing out her chest as taking his hand. She tried not to let her skin crawl at the thought of shaking the hand of one of those fancy-pancy private investigators that stank of poshness and thought they were above everyone else because they could be hired by the police themselves.

Piko looked as if he was trying not to notice the poor attempt at intimidation and Sugar watched the whole thing take place, standing there awkwardly.

This case probably wasn't getting solved any time soon if things carried on like this.


	12. Chapter 12

While Piko and Sugar were off getting lunch, Quinxian opened the case files. There were several pieces of standard white paper, which contained all the grisly details of the three confirmed deaths in one file, and the disappearance in the other, or the Kagamine murders as they became known. The fact that all four were grouped together under one name implies that someone believed that not only were the three incidents related, but that the Kagamine boy, his friend and that Gumi girl had actually been murdered somehow. Quinxian did have to admit to herself, the timing of everything seemed a little too convenient. But still, it felt more than a little insensitive to stuff them together, as if they had a connection conjured up by a tinfoil hat-wearing conspiracy theorist.

Autopsies on the bodies had been performed earlier that day. It confirmed that Rin had had her throat slit with what appeared to be shears. She also had mud on her legs and back, and flakes of skin under some of her fingernails. The flakes were back at the lab being entered into computer systems, seeing if they could match it against anyone.

What was odd, though, was how her left wrist had been slashed, probably with the same weapon. Quinxian's first thought, after looking at the grisly photo, was that perhaps it happened during a struggle, but the cuts seemed too precise for that.

Another strange thing was the absence of blood on the body. Since Rin was found by the garden hose, Quinxian decided the killer must have washed off the body in an attempt to conceal or destroy evidence. She would be heading out to the scene today. Maybe she might find something those fancy-pancy out-of-Townies might have missed. She smiled at the thought and turned her attention to Len and Fukase.

They'd both died after being hit by the truck, that much appeared to be true. The poor traumatised truck driver, as well as several bystanders, had been interviewed and they all said that the boys had come running from the direction of the school field. No one, as far as she knew, had actually looked in that direction or seen what the boys could have been running from. Shit luck.

The witnesses also stated that the boys hadn't paid any attention to the traffic on the road until the truck was right on top of them. But by then, it was too late.

Quinxian furrowed her brow as she sat in thought. This really did sound like it could have something to do with Rin's murder. She would have to arrange interviews with the victims families, friends and schoolmates, anyone who might know something about them that was out of the ordinary.

She was about to reach for her phone just as Piko and Sugar walked in. Sugar tossed something into Quinxian's hands.

"I brought you a wrap from the cafeteria!" She said brightly.

Quinxian barely glanced at it as she put it on her desk and handed Sugar the Kagamine and Fukase's file. "Any thoughts?" She asked.

Sugar pretended she didn't see Quinxian toss the wrap aside and skimmed over the file. Piko read over her shoulder.

"I reckon those boys had something to do with it," Piko said. "Maybe they had an argument, killed her and jumped onto the road to kill themselves out of guilt."

It would explain why they ignored the traffic, but Quinxian didn't buy it. Bed she said so to Piko.

"Well, have you got any better ideas?" Piko sniffed.

Quinxian narrowed her eyes. "Just fuck off."

"Quinxian!" Sugar cried. "You have to be nice to him!"

Quinxian ignored her and picked up the phone on her desk. She looked at one of the phone numbers on the piece of paper next to her computer and dialled it. She rudely waved off the other two as she lifted the reviewer to her mouth.

"Hello, Mrs Kagamine? This is Officer Quinxian Mo from the police…"

Haku had showed Luo the passage in Eyes of the Moon that made her upset, and Luo was very understanding.

"Unfortunately we have to read it for school," she said. "But can we ask for a different book?"

Haku shook her head. "No. The librarian doesn't like me very much."

Luo sighed in exasperation. "Is there anyone in town that likes you?" She asked.

"There is, actually."

"Who?"

Haku smiled. "It's you, silly!"

Luo grinned back. "I'm very glad to hear that."

"And I like you too."

Luo couldn't help but let out a good-natured laugh. "I'm glad to hear that too." She wrapped her arm about her best friend's shoulders and pulled her close.


	13. Chapter 13

It was the following day, the sky was bright, birds were chirping, and Quinxian was lying in the backseat of her car, pissed that she had gotten no useful information, from both the crime scene and Mrs Kagamine.

She was parked in a secluded parking lot next to the town park. The lot was obscured from view by trees and shrubbery. If she listened closely, she could make out the faint shrieks of children running around and having fun.

The day was warm, yet Quinxian was lying in the back of a car without the air conditioning turned on or the windows rolled down. On top of that, she was wearing a stylish but heavy overcoat and thick black thigh-high stockings, which she thought brought out the shape of her legs beautifully.

One might think, judging by her clothes, that she was going for a mysterious-tsundere-seductress, which was partially true, but really, she just wanted to feel like she was still a sexual being, even though Longya was long gone from her life.

The heat in the car was nice, though a little stifling. She shifted her hands so that one was under her head and the other one was resting on her leg. She stroked the smooth material of her stockings with two of her fingers. She slowly began to move her hand up her leg, still stroking.

Her fingers reached the top of her stocking. She played with it, lifting it up a little bit then letting it snap back into place. She had to stifle a moan.

Quinxian knew she should be heading back to the station. She had to pass along the recordings of her interview with Mrs Kagamine, as well as examining Sugar's interview with Gumi's mother. But her job was the farthest thing from her mind. In her imagination, Longya was still with her, in this baking-hot car, and he had her undivided attention.

She stuck two of her fingers under her sticking and began rubbing the tender skin of her inner thigh. She leaned her head back as far as it could go before hitting the door, waves of purple locks spilling over the seat. Her cap fell off of her head and onto the floor.

Something told her that this would be a good masturbation session, a nice, satisfying one. Many, many times in the past, she would get so close, only to be suddenly brought back down to earth by the memory of Longya getting into his car and driving away, never to come back. And then she would be left wanting, needy, feeling empty and sad.

But not this time.

Quinxian brought her hand up higher still, under her summer-yellow dress, then slipped her fingers under her panties.

Quinxian arched her back as she began to rub herself, gently at first, and going faster. In bed, Longya always took his time with things like this, driving her absolutely crazy. He thought it was a major turn-on how she would become so loopy with desire that she would scream at him to just give it to her already, and how he would respond with some one-liner (ranging from gross to corny) that would make her come without him even touching her. That's how horny she was.

She was alone now, and could indulge in her fantasies. She imagined that her hand was really Longya's hand, and he was quickly getting faster and faster, calling her a "good girl" when he felt how wet she was.

Quinxian began to rock back and forth, panting, mouth wide open. She emitted a low whine as she stretched herself out for a partner who wasn't really there.

Right when she felt herself tipping over the edge, her phone rang.

Her eyes snapped open and her sexual euphoria was replaced with unmeasurable rage. She squeezed her sticky thighs together as she groped around for her phone. When she found it, she held it up to her ear and growled a less-than-friendly "what is it?"

"Um," came Sugar's voice from the other end of the line. "I'm ready to be picked up now."

Quinxian sat up. Shit! She'd completely forgotten that she was Sugar's ride today. Dammit!

"Alright, I'll be right there," she said before hanging up and crawling into the driver's seat.

Back at the police station, Quinxian and Sugar were relaying a basic description of their interviews to Piko. In Quinxian's case, it meant grumbling "nothing important or useful."

Sugar was more detailed with her recount.

"I don't think her mother had anything to do with it, and she seemed genuinely concerned for her daughter's safety." Sugar said sadly. "He husband died, as did her parents and siblings. Gumi is all she has left."

Piko seemed equally forlorn by that statement. "Well, if that's the case, we'd better keep on working until we find her. Let's organise interviews with the kids' teachers and schoolmates. Quinxian, would you like to do the principal?"

"I guess," Quinxian said darkly.

"What's the matter with you?" Piko asked, glaring. "You seem more grumpy today."

Quinxian narrowed her eyes at him. "Didn't sleep very well last night," she lied.

"Oh wait," Sugar said suddenly. "I just remembered something."

Piko and Quinxian both turned to stare expectantly at her.

"Gumi's mother did mention that she had enemies at school. She gave several names, uh, Miku, Haku, Emma. She doesn't know their last names thought."

"Well then," Piko said, rubbing his hands together. "Let's check the school roll and see if we can't find these three enemies."


	14. Chapter 14

When Haku opened the door two days later to find two police officers standing on her porch, she nearly fainted and had a heart attack at the same time.

"Are you alright, miss?" One officer asked. She had long indigo hair with white tips, weaved into a plait. She was wearing a comically huge hat with a little face on it. She looked very sweet and friendly. The other officer standing next to her didn't look as kind. She had massively long waves of luscious purple hair that reached her legs. Her cap was pulled down to partially cover her face, particularly her eyes, but there was still something unfriendly and stoic about the way her cheekbones were molded. She was also wearing a stylish but heavy overcoat, which was odd as it was a fairly hot day.

Haku swallowed. "Um, yes, I'm fine thank you."

The officer who had spoken to her introduced herself. "I'm officer Otomachi, and this is Detective Mo. Are you Haku Yowane?"

Haku could practically feel her face grow pale. "Yes. Why?"

"We'd like to speak to you about Megumi Nakajima's disappearance. May we come in?"

Haku moved aside to make room for them to enter. The two women stepped inside, went over to the couch and sat down next to Luo. Mo glanced at her briefly, then did a double take.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Tianyi Luo. I'm Haku's friend."

"Do you attend the same school?"

"Yes. I'm new here."

"Okay, Haku," Otomachi began, pulling out a small recorder, turning it on and setting it down on the armrest. "How well did you know Gumi?"

Haku shook her head from where she sat on the ottoman. "Not very well." She said quietly.

"Did you ever speak to her?"

"Sometimes. She-" Haku looked up at Luo, who nodded in encouragement. "She wasn't very nice. She did lots of mean stuff to me."

Otomachi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What did she do to you, exactly?"

Haku stared down at her knees. "Um, once she took my gym clothes and dumped them in the mud, and she peed in my lunchbox, and put a firecracker in my locker…" She sniffled loudly and wiped an eye. Luo moved over from the couch to the ottoman and put a comforting arm around her.

"Whoa," Otomachi was shocked. "We've spoken to her mother, and she never mentioned anything like that. She did say that Gumi had lots of enemies, and that you were one of them."

Haku jerked her head up, her eyes wet with tears. Otomachi flashed her a sympathetic stare.

"I never did anything to her…" Haku whimpered.

"Where were you last Friday?" Mo asked, leaning forward.

"At Luo's house. I was staying the night."

Luo nodded in agreement. "She did. You can ask my cousin, if you like."

Mo frowned. "Your cousin?"

"Yeah. I live with her."

"How well do you girls know Rin and Len Kagamine and Fukase?" Otomachi asked in a gentle voice.

Haku shook her head, eyes still streaming, and Luo said. "Never met either of them. Like I said, I'm new here."

"When did you move here?"

Luo paused for a second. "Um, week before last."

"And where were you this Monday?" Mo asked grumpily.

"At my place."

Mo turned to Haku. "You seem to spend an awful lot of time at your friend's house."

Haku looked up at her, boring into her eyes that were supposed to be hidden by her cap. It sort of creeped Mo out. "Because she's my first friend, and she's amazing."

Luo smiled at that.

Otomachi got back down to business. "When you say you didn't know the Kagamines or Fukase, Haku, do you mean that you just never interacted or…"

"Yes."

After a little while longer of going back and forth with Haku and Luo firmly stating that they had nothing to do with the deaths and disappearance, Otomachi and Mo finally left, shutting the door behind them.

As they stood on the front porch, breathing in the exhaust-filled air, Quinxian spoke. "Motive."

"Hmm?"

"Haku has a motive for Gumi. If what she's saying is true, them maybe she felt compelled to get revenge."

"But what about the others?" Sugar asked.

Quinxian shrugged. "Maybe they saw something they shouldn't."

Sugar glanced at the recorder in her hand. "Well, only one way to find out."


	15. Chapter 15

"I don't know what happened to her." Miku said as she batted her huge eyelashes and widened her bright blue eyes to make herself appear more innocent. Fucking narcissist, Mo had thought. She would have loved to see her get canned, but there was not one shred of evidence that could prove her guilt. Not yet, anyway.

Emma was never interviewed. There was a reason for that - she was dead. And much like the others, she had brought it upon herself.

"Why don't we go for a walk?" Luo had suggested to Haku they day after they were visited by the police. Haku had agreed, hoping the beautiful flower arrangements, nearly clipped grass and fresh air of the local park would do her some good.

They arrived shortly before noon and the playground was full of small children screaming up a storm. Not wanting to deal with all of that noise, the two girls had veered away and into the gardens. There was much more peace here, only the sounds of birds chirping and the occasional person or couple strolling by.

"Ooh, I like to sit here and watch the birds." Haku said, pointing to a wooden bench made of dark wood with several small patches of moss growing on it. "My dad used to take me here all the time, and watching the birds was my favourite thing to do. I'd name them and make up stories about them. It was kinda silly, actually…"

Luo laughed. "If it makes you feel any better, Gongyu used to do that, too. And she took it way too seriously."

The girls shared a giggle as they sat down and gazed at the birds hopping amidst the flowers. The sun was beating down, white-hot, covering everything in its warmth. The maze of flower patches and bushes filled the air with their sweet scents. The sky was a brilliant cerulean. The shrieks from the playground had died away some. The day was nice, just nice.

But then things began to sour.

"I'm scared," Haku said, slowly.

Luo reached over and rubbed her hand. "So am I. This past week has just been so surreal."

"I can't believe that four people are dead, and two of them didn't even deserve it!"

"Yes, it's a shame about Len and Fukase. But don't worry so much about Gumi and Rin. They deserved it."

Haku's mouth wavered, as if she was remembering something unpleasant.

"Honestly, those girls! The whole lot of them can die, for all I care. Especially Miku. I saw her when I was going home yesterday, and she passed by me on the street, and she looked at me and said "have fun hanging out with the slut of the whole school?" And then she tried to flip my skirt! The nerve of that bitch! Who does she think she is? I wanted to stab her then, but that wouldn't be too wise with people around."

Haku had a very grim half-smile, which quickly faded away when the two girls heard rustling from behind them, and turned around to see Emma sitting up on her knees behind one of the tulip patches with a thick, hardcover book next to her, a pencil in her hand, her eyes wide.

"You - you killed them!" She said.

Haku stood up, ready to go into flight mode at a moment's notice. Luo stood up too, but she was prepared for fight mode.

"I knew it! I knew you were a bitch! A vengeful little bitch! Murdering people over some silly little teasing! Disproportionate retribution at its finest!" Emma had a malicious gleam in her eyes. "And I'll bet it wasn't even you! I'll bet you got your friend to do your dirty work for you! Shameful!"

She stood up herself and Luo put a defensive arm across Haku's chest.

"Wait till the police hear about this!" Emma suddenly scooped up her book and dashed off amidst the flower bushes.

Luo wasted no time in following her.

Haku, however, remained in the same spot.

She couldn't believe their stupidity. Talking about their guilt in a public place. They didn't even check to make sure they were alone!

She smacked the palm of her hand against her face several times. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Haku snapped her head up when she heard a strangled gasp that sounded like Luo.

Oh no…

Haku ran over to where the sound originated from. And what she saw made her let out a strangled gasp of her own.

Emma had Luo pinned to a tree by pressing her forearm against Luo's throat and clawing at her face. Luo was holding her arms back while trying to desperately kick her in the legs and crotch.

Haku couldn't believe what she was seeing. She knew that Luo wasn't invincible, but she was completely getting her ass handed to her. Haku didn't like it at all.

And it was unfair! Luo killed Gumi and Rin to protect her! And here Emma was, accusing Haku of getting Luo to target them out of vengeance, to keep her hands clean! She said that like she knew what she was talking about!

Emma had dropped her book in the scuffle and it now lay close to where Haku was standing. It was hardcover, made from crimson leather. The front cover was flipped open, and on the first page, in big block letters, was "ACCOUNTING. 300 EMPTY PAGES FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE." And directly below that, in a messy scrawl, was "To Emma, from Dad. Happy 16th Birthday!" Haku briefly wondered why Emma's father would give her an accounting book for her birthday, but it was quickly overshadowed by the unfairness and rage swirling in her head.

She picked up the book and stood quietly behind Emma, before swinging the book down over her head.

Perhaps it was because it was unexpected, or maybe Haku just didn't know her own strength, but Emma fell to the ground and began to cry tears of pain. But Haku wasn't done yet.

She raised one foot and brought it down on her chest. Emma heaved and gave a throaty yell. She was silenced quickly by Haku lifting her foot again and again, stomping on her mouth, her jaw, chest, shoulders, forehead and neck until Emma was still.

Haku kept going, each stomp stronger than the last, until Luo pulled her away and Emma was well and truly dead.

Luo did not dawdle for even a second. He immediately picked up the body by the arms and dragged it under a nearby rosebush. She pushed it far enough under so that it was completely concealed, and hopefully wouldn't be discovered for a few days.

Haku, meanwhile, was flicking through the pages of the accounting book. She understood why Emma would be given such a thing. Each page was covered in admittedly beautiful illustrations of everything from scenery to household items. And on the last page with anything on it, was a pencil sketch of the tulips she had been kneeling by only minutes before. Now they knew what she had been doing at the park: drawing.

Luo then took Haku by the arm. "Come on. Let's go home."


	16. Chapter 16

Sometimes Qingxian thought of Ling, of her long black plait, her guitar and her massive appetite whenever there was Italian food involved. She also thought of Ling's tear stained cheeks as she hugged Qingxian before leaving in her grandparents car after the funeral. She'd had her hair down then, and it was all wavy from her normal plait.

Longya had left to go pick up groceries and he never returned. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to him, Qingxian, or Ling.

Haku had gotten halfway back home before she realised she was still carrying Emma's sketch book. She drew in her breath through her teeth and her eyes widened. Luo turned around and said "damn."

"What do I do with it?!"

Luo glanced around her, then leaned in closer. "Take it home and hide it until we can figure out what to do with it."

So that's what she did.

Haku collapsed on her bed, shoes kicked off, book hidden under a thick winter coat in her closet. Her feet and hands were shaking. Soon the adrenaline would wear off and she'd crash.

Haku saw the pale pink strands beneath her feet. The crunch of her shoe against bone. Her sole sliding against skin. She'd done all that in a frenzy, which scared her. She rarely ever lost her temper but seeing Luo in her normal position of danger pushed her violently over the edge. But what was the most scary was that she'd went over that edge willingly.

All this time she'd buried her anger, rage and God knows what else deep in the darkest pit of her very being. Today, a large crack had appeared down the middle and it threatened to burst apart.

Haku wanted to fix that crack, but at the same time, decided not to. After all, it saved Luo's life. Haku couldn't afford to just sit and watch and be victimised from the sidelines. She needed to be taking some matters into her own hands.

Luo wanted to help Haku and Haku wanted to help Luo too. That's what friends were for, after all.


	17. Chapter 17

The leather of the couch was shiny black and sort of slippery. Qingxian found it hard to relax against it, plus there was an unattractive squeaky kind of noise everytime she moved. She hated these kinds of couches. What was wrong with other couches? Surely there were other ways to display your wealth than spending it on this?

"Emma's out at the moment," the woman had said to her and Sugar, "just make yourselves comfortable and I'll call her and tell her to come back home."

A moment later all three of them heard a ting-a-ling sound from upstairs. Emma's mother paled.

"Oh...that's her phone," she said quietly. "She must have left it behind. I'm really sorry about this."

"It's alright!" Sugar smiled. "Teenagers are like that. I know I was!"

Qingxian frowned.

Two hours went by. Emma's mother prepared them coffee and answered the women's questions. Emma herself, however, was nowhere to be seen. Everytime her mother glanced up at the clock, she swallowed hard.

"So, where exactly did Emma go?" Qingxian asked impatiently.

"To the park," Emma's mother responded. "I'm sure she'll be back soon."

That's what you said two hours ago, Qinxian thought bitterly.

Sugar got an unusually worried look on her face. "Would you like us to go and pick her up?"

"Okay." Now her mother looked even more worried.

During the drive over there, Sugar fidgeted the whole way.

"Someone's restless today," Qingxian commented.

"I've just got this really funny feeling that something might have happened to her."

Qingxian rolled her eyes. "I'm sure she's fine. You're worrying yourself over nothing."

Sugar made a small noise of disagreement and the two of them were silent for the rest of the ride.

When they reached the park, Qingxian gazed up at the sun and shielded her eyes as she stood with one hand on her hip, legs parted slightly. Sugar watched her. Why on earth would Qingxian wear a trenchcoat on a day like this? It wasn't cold or anything. And why was she staring at the sun?

Qingxian then glanced around the park. "Alright, let's find Emma."

It didn't take the two women long to come across the scene. When your eyes are trained to spot something like that, you rarely ever miss it again. To Qingxian, it couldn't be any more obvious. The grass was trampled with flecks of blood. You might as well have been standing with a massive white flag, jumping up and down and screaming "RIGHT HERE, SUCKERS" at the top of your lungs.

Emma was found pretty easily, too, though from the way she was hidden she may have been completely missed for a few days if anyone else was looking for her.

"Oh, dear," Sugar said as she gently lifted the fragrant branches concealing the body. "Oh…" She clapped a hand to her mouth. "Her mother…"

Qingxian would be lying if she said she wasn't spooked by the timing of the whole thing. Something told her Piko would feel the same way.

Speaking of whom…

As she pulled out her phone to call the squad in, Piko rang her. She answered hesitantly. "Hello?"

"You seem happy today," Piko said sarcastically. "How are things on your end going?"

"Just peachy. We have another victim."

"Really?! Where?"

"In the park, under the rose bushes. There are signs of a struggle here, too. Looks pretty violent."

"I'm coming over straight away."


End file.
